West Zealand County () is a former

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

( Danish: ''

amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'') in the west-central part of the island of

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

(''Sjælland'') in eastern

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising a few former counties. The county was abolished effective January 1, 2007, when it merged into

Region Sjælland Region Zealand () is an administrative region of Denmark. It is one of the five classified NUTS-2 statistical regions of Denmark. It was established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional ...

(i.e. ''Region Zealand''). The county was responsible for public hospitals, upper secondary schools and schools for Higher Preparatory Examination, public transport and social welfare for the disabled. The County Hall was located in the town of

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in east Denmark with a population of 8,433 (2025).

, and became the seat of the new

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. Sorø is by no means the biggest city in West Zealand, but it has great historical value. It is famed for the

Sorø Academy Sorø Academy ( Danish: ''Sorø Akademi'') is a boarding school and gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated by ...

( Danish, ''Sorø Akademi''), an educational institution built in 1140 together with the church where Queen

Margaret I of Denmark Margaret I (; March 1353 – 28 October 1412) was Queen regnant of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (which included Finland) from the late 1380s until her death, and the founder of the Kalmar Union that joined the Scandinavian kingdoms together for ...

was buried (later moved to Roskilde Domkirke,

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

). Many people who live in West Zealand commute to the greater metropolitan area of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

for work.

List of County Mayors

Municipalities (1970-2006)

References

External links

West Zealand County website - list of county mayors

Tourist information

Sorø Akademi
{{coord, 55, 26, N, 11, 34, E, type:adm1st_source:itwiki, display=title Former counties of Denmark (1970–2006) Region Zealand States and territories established in 1970 States and territories disestablished in 2006